


Changed

by lostinthemusic6



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 21:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4641330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinthemusic6/pseuds/lostinthemusic6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I realized that Beth Greene died on the side of that road with a hammer in her hands and another man's blood on her face."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changed

**Author's Note:**

> Season five never happened. Takes place after the events of "Alone."
> 
> *This was going to be a full chaptered fic with lots of new characters but after getting out this first chapter I realized I liked it better just as a one shot and kept it as such but that is why some of the OC's are a bit more detailed than normal.
> 
> Enjoy. :)

...

* * *

_"I wish I could just...change."_

_"You did."_

_"Not enough. Not like you."_

* * *

He adjusted the baby in his arms, holding her a little tighter to his chest. She was heavy, much heavier than she used to be but compared to everything else that he had been through, she was the one burden he didn't mind to bare. He glanced over at Rick. His brother looks tired and worn, haggard like the rest of them. It had been a long journey but he knew they would be alright, they would make it. They always did.

He glanced forward again at the large stone walls that were getting closer with each step. He knew he needed to hand the baby off to Carl again - having taken her when he saw how the boy wouldn't stop juggling her around, trying to hold her steady in his weakened state - but he sure as hell couldn't fire his crossbow with a baby in his arms. As if reading his thoughts, Carl came up beside him and they wordlessly communicated to each other as he took his baby sister back.

Daryl immediately pulled his crossbow over his head, holding it at the ready and everyone else followed his lead, pulling their weapons closer and preparing for anything.

"Easy," Rick murmured and Daryl tensed as he saw a small group of people beginning to form in front of them, seeming to emerge from a door hidden within the wall.

Both groups had their weapons raised and Rick motioned for them to stop and Daryl walked forward a few more steps, flanking Rick as he continued on, making his status as leader known to this foreign group. The group opposite of them - which was close enough now that Daryl could see consisted of five people, three burly looking men and two fierce looking women - seemed to have the same strategy and the man in the middle, who wasn't the most built but did look the most threatening stepped forward and Daryl was only momentarily surprised when one of the women followed a few steps behind him,taking position as his second in command, but he quickly squashed those thoughts. The world had changed and Daryl knew better than to underestimate a woman.

"This here is good." The man spoke, gesturing between them and the air seemed to still around them.

"We don't want any trouble," Rick spoke, his voice sounded too harsh for the situation but that was only because Daryl couldn't remember the last time they had any water, at least not enough to where he and Rick drank some as opposed to offering it to Judith or Carl or Maggie.

Rick's words seemed to have an odd effect on the group in front of them. Daryl narrowed his eyes as a few bouts of laughter echoed through them, a few smirks and groans of annoyance. The leader even cracked a grin and the woman beside him turned to one of the men, her bright red hair whipping against her face as she also laughed.

"Ya owe me a pack'a smokes, Owen," she spoke, a cocky tone sounding almost comical with her soft, lithe voice that counteracted her fierce appearance and as she turned back around, Daryl noticed she had a dark patch of purple skin around her left eye, a tale tale sign of a black eye beginning to form.

The leader chuckled and brought his hands up and the group silenced, serious once again. "As you can see, we've heard that quite a few times." the man spoke before he lowered his weapon and Daryl noticed a small shake of red hair as the woman beside him muttered something under her breath, obviously not pleased by his action.

Daryl could relate as he too gritted his teeth and took a small step forward as Rick also lowered his weapon.

"How long ya guys been on the road?" their leader spoke up again.

"Too long," Rick answered but then seemed to think better and spoke again. "I'd say about six months now. It's been a hard journey."

The man nodded his head. "How'd ya hear about us, here?" he asks then, gesturing to the walls behind them.

"Couple'a months ago we met a man in the woods. Told us he came from a safe place. Said he could take us there but we had some sick members, couldn't make the trip just then. He told us that if we were interested to just start headin' in this direction. Didn't quite believe it at first so we didn't think much on it. Things have been gettin' harder these past few weeks though, we can't risk being out here much longer."

Daryl glances behind him, checking on his family. They were all still tense, their weapons drawn but they were no longer aiming - save for Abraham and Michonne - and he frowns a little at that. Judith is now asleep on Carl's shoulder and Daryl almost smirks when he sees the kids hand resting on his gun, ready to defend if anything goes wrong. He quickly glances over to the other side, seeing Glenn standing in front of Maggie, shielding most of her from the other groups view. He looks the most tense and Daryl can understand that part. Maggie is holding her gun at her side in one hand, the other he can't see but judging by the way her arm is bent, he figures it's resting on her stomach, like it always seems to be lately. Tara and Rosita are on her sides, boxing her in. Carol and Sasha are just to the left of Abraham and Eugene is all but hiding behind everyone else and Daryl resists the urge to roll his eyes. He nods over to Michonne who is across from him, further back but still close enough to Rick.

"We made the decision to come here about a week ago. We were close by and figured it was worth the chance. Honestly wasn't expecting anything much, certainly not this." Rick finishes and Daryl looks back toward this new group and the walls behind them and a part of him wonders what the hell lies behind those walls.

"This man you met," One of the other men speaks up and Daryl clenches his hand holding the crossbow. "He give ya a name?"

Rick glances over at him and he nods his head. "Said his name was Andrew, Andrew Marsh."

Daryl hears a sharp intake of breath and his eyes whip over to where the red headed woman is now glaring at the ground, her hands fidgeting against the pistol in her hands and judging by the way the other members look over to her, it isn't hard to figure out that she much have had a connection with the man they spoke of.

"Andrew was a good man, a good friend. We lost him a few weeks back. He was an excellent judge of character too so if he left you folks with directions, he must'a saw something good in ya." The leader spoke, nodding his head and with those words, every other member in the group lowered their weapons, even the red head who still looked far too tense for Daryl's liking.

But she slid her pistol back into the holder at her waist and looked back up, her eyes roaming over them all but stopping at no one in particular as she spoke.

"What exactly are ya guys lookin' to find here?" she asks, her voice rougher than it was before.

Daryl was surprised to hear Maggie's voice because he wasn't expecting anyone else to speak but with her words, he knew he could understand why she had.

"A chance to live. We've been surviving for too long. We just want too feel safe." her voice was quiet but still firm enough to get her point across.

"Well," the leader spoke again, placing his hands on his hips. "On that note, welcome to Alexandria."

.

.

.

Daryl was speechless - not that that was unusual for him, but still. The Alexandria safe zone was just that, it was safe. There were houses and trees and gardens and children running around. Women with swollen bellies and there was laughter and joy and if it wasn't for the few weapons he saw hanging casually from a few people's hips, he would have thought they had gone back in time, back to before the dead started to rise and eat the living. Daryl flexed his finger's against his bow strap and his eyes kept darting around, just waiting for the screaming to start.

He felt a light tap on his arm instead and he instantly tensed, his free hand curling into a fist as he jerked his head down. He was surprised to see the woman, the red haired one and seemingly second in command here to be walking next to him, her eyebrow slightly raised. He furrowed his own eyebrows before he saw movement next to his arm again and looked down, seeing that she was holding out a pack of cigarettes.

"Been around smoker's nearly my whole life. Seen the way you keep flexing your fingers, moving your hands around. My Daddy was the same way every time he needed a fix." she shakes the pack again and Daryl reaches out, taking them and the lighter from her.

"Thanks," he says gruffly, giving her a small nod.

"You can keep 'em. Got more back at my place." she says as he tries to hand the pack back to her, holding one lone cigarette between his fingers. "And look, I know you're unsettled right now but you don't have to be. We're always on guard, ready for things to turn bad at any time but that doesn't mean we can't relax. Things can be good here. Wouldn't kill ya to have a little faith." she bumps his arm again and gives him a smile before she is walking ahead again, back up toward the leader and Daryl's steps falter.

He quickly places the cigarette between his lips and lights it, trying his hardest not to think of blonde hair and blue eyes flickering in the candlelight and a black car with a white cross.

But when he looks back up, seeing that red hair swishing back and forth in the woman's pony tail all he can think of is how much that woman reminds him of her. It's strange because they look nothing a like but he can see it. Then with the way she was talking just then, sounding just like her, using those words, got his lungs burned as he sucked in the deathly smoke.

He had tried, tried to find her. He had run for hours and even after being reunited with his family he hadn't stopped. He went out "hunting" and stayed out much too long to come back with only a few squirrels but if his family had any idea that he was really out there searching for her, they never spoke on it. He never found a trace of her though and he would still be out there looking if these past few weeks hadn't been absolute hell on them.

The heard came through and they lost Tyrese. Judith got sick and then passed the cold on to almost every one else, making them weak and unable to travel for lack of being able to defend themselves properly. The summer heat has been getting brutal and the game in the woods was all but nonexistent. The water was quickly drying out and the rain was scarce. Then, when Maggie and Glenn finally spoke up, they all knew it was time to get serious, to find a place where they all could settle down, to live, like Maggie had said before.

Daryl was the one who spoke up first, mentioning the man in the woods who had spoke of a place called Alexandria with high and thick walls. It wasn't even a discussion. Daryl was never planning on staying though, especially now that he knows that this place could work. He planned to give it a week, at most, rest up and then he would leave again, slip away into the night if he has to because he had to find her and now that his family was safe, he didn't have to focus on anyone else but her.

Daryl was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even realize that they were now in a building and he cursed himself for being so careless. He glances around though and quickly settles as there once again doesn't seem to be any threats - they hadn't asked them to hand over their weapons either which also made him a bit more comfortable on the matter.

"Alright so basically all we're gonna do is take your names down. We like to keep a list up in the community center, helps people find their loved ones easier. You'd be surprised how many loved one's have been reunited here." A man speaks up, Daryl thinks his name is Owen as he thinks back to what the red haired woman said back at the wall.

"We're all here," he hears Sasha speak, her voice that same emotionless drawl since losing Tyrese and Daryl has to grit his teeth at her lie.

No. No they _all_  were not here. But of course, they forgot about  _her_. Again. Wrote her off as dead because sweet little Beth Greene was dead the moment Daryl Dixon let her get taken.

He knew it wasn't true though, it couldn't be.

She was alive. She had to be.

The man was suddenly standing in front of him now, him having been so caught up in his thoughts again that he didn't realize everyone else had already spoke their names.

"You alright man?" the guy speaks up and Daryl just grunts. "Wanna tell me yer name?"

Daryl just sighs. "Daryl Dixon."

The man, who had been looking down at the paper in front of him suddenly pauses, his head whipping back up.

"Dixon?" he questions and Daryl squares his shoulders.

Of course he was used to people balking at his last name, had been ever since he was a kid.  _Dixon_  may as well have been just another curse, a word too awful to use in normal conversation. He narrowed his eyes just slightly before a thought suddenly occurred to him. How in the hell did this man seem to already have a right to judge his last name? He had never met the guy, hell he had never even met any of the people he called family until after the Apocalypse. Something wasn't right here.

"What'd you say?" a soft voice spoke up.

Daryl looks over from the surprised face of the man in front of him over to the confused face of the red headed woman, now making her way over to them.

"This here is Daryl  _Dixon_." the man speaks up and the red head glances between the two of them before her gaze pauses on Daryl again and he watches as her confused expression turns into something that looks like understanding and her eyebrow shoots up as her eyes widen and a small smile begins to form on her lips.

"What's goin' on?" he hears Carol ask from beside him and it's only then that he realizes this confusing conversation had gotten the attention of almost everyone in the room.

"Sorry," the man in front of him speaks up shaking his head. "Just wasn't expectin' to hear that name. Any chance you know Beth?"

"What?" Daryl nearly growls, his fist clenching his bow strap harshly.

"Beth Dixon." the leader - who had introduced himself as Jack - speaks up, stepping into the conversation now. "Blonde hair, big blue eyes. She's a tiny thing but that woman is a damn fire cracker. Knocked Owen here on his ass once," he laughs, slapping the man on his back. "Gave Jen that nice little shiner she's got, just yesterday."

"Lucky shot," the red head, Jen, mutters and Daryl is just staring.

"What did you say her name was?" Maggie speaks up.

"Beth Dixon." Owen says, seeming confused by all the faces of shock and disbelief on their groups faces. "Yeah she came here about four months ago, she was alone. Said she had family but doesn't talk about 'em much, least not to  _us_."

Owen and Jack turn to look back at Jen again and she rolls her eyes, finally looking away from where she had been staring at Daryl, almost like she was trying to see through him or something and she looks over at Maggie.

"What'da'ya say  _your_  name was?" she asks her.

"Maggie Rhee, used to be Greene." she whispers, seeming to be in stunned shock or something.

Jen suddenly laughs and just nods her head. "I'll be damned."

"Can you take us to her?" Maggie says quickly then, stepping forward to clutch the woman's arm. "Please?"

"You think she's still at training?" Jen says, turning to ask Jack and ignoring the way Maggie is holding onto her still.

Jack nods, scratching his chin. "I reckon. Pretty sure she was going up against Derek today. Damn boy wouldn't shut up about it."

Jen laughs and rolls her eyes again. "C'mon then."

.

.

.

They lead them outside again and everyone is chattering nonsense in his ears. Maggie is all but skipping, tears already in her eyes and Daryl is falling behind. Everyone seems so excited, convinced that this Beth will be their Beth. Funny how they all suddenly care to find her when they think she is so close. Daryl isn't as hopeful. Sure, he knows she's alive but the chance that she is already here, in this safe zone, and with  _his_  last name, well, that just couldn't be possible. It didn't make any damn sense - not that she would be alive and here but the fact that she had his last name, Daryl couldn't understand that part at all.

The group seemed to pick up speed then and Daryl looked up to see another group of people a little ways ahead, circling around some type of event going on the middle of the road. He heard Jack curse and watched as he began to push his way through the crowd, people grunting and groaning their displeasure as their family made their way through. Daryl found himself weaving through the people and how he managed to get to the front before Jack and Jen had lead the others there he wasn't sure but what he saw in front of him would have damn near knocked him on his knees if he wasn't already seeing red.

There she was, right in front of him. Blonde hair and blue eyes and a part of him couldn't believe it. All those nights of tossing and turning, all those days of tracking and guessing and all those moments of hoping - because, of course, ever since he had been with her, he suddenly realized he liked to  _hope_  for things. He lost sleep at night, watching that car drive away with her inside over and over and there she was, right in front of him.

He had finally found her, and seemingly just at the right time too.

He was reaching for his knife on his hip as he took another step forward as he watched her struggling. He couldn't believe these people around them, watching on as she is pinned to the ground, a shirtless man who looks about Glenn's age with toned muscles and a large frame was hovering above her. She was wiggling beneath the man, her body pressed into the dirt and fighting against him as the man above her was damn near laughing and Daryl was popping the button on his knife sheath as he hears Maggie's voice.

"Beth!" she yells and before Daryl can make another move he is frozen in shock as he watches Beth, who obviously hasn't heard Maggie, get the upper hand.

She gets her leg free and her knee comes up to jerk it right into the man's crotch and in his moment of weakness she kicks at him again, causing him to lose his balance and then she gets her arms free. Daryl watches in amazement as she shoves the man above her hard, using all her strength and pushing him to the side. The man attempts to fight back and it's a close call at one point but then Beth gets in a punch to the mans gut and he groans, hunching over. She uses that to her advantage and this time she is the one hovering over him as she climbs on top of the man and Daryl isn't sure where it came from but she is suddenly holding a small knife to the man's throat.

"You fight dirty Dixon," the man beneath her huffs, his chest puffing up and down.

"Says the man who tackled me to the ground with no warnin' or nothin'!" Beth speaks up, her voice also strained from exertion and if Daryl had any doubts that she was real, those were all squashed as he listened to her voice, the voice that had haunted his dreams for months. She is grinning though, her teeth showing and her hair falling down in her face and Daryl is frozen by her beauty right then.

"What, you think a walker or a baddie is gonna come out and go, oh look out, here I come. You're dreamin' Dixon." the man chuckles and Daryl is suddenly frozen solid again as he realizes that the man had just called  _her_  Dixon, twice.

"Beth!" Maggie's voice screams again and Daryl watches as Beth whips her head over, her grin immediately dropping and her face turning guarded and confused.

It only lasts a moment though before Daryl sees the shock and surprise cross her face.

"Maggie?" she says softly, almost as if she is questioning whether what she sees in front of her is real. Then, as her eyes quickly scan the crowd she is grinning again.

"Maggie!" she yells then and she is just a blur of blonde hair and limbs as she scrambles off the man and runs toward her sister, the two of them crashing together in what looked like an almost painful embrace.

The next few minutes are filled with cries and tears and murmured whispers as she makes her way through the family, giving them all hugs and kisses and Daryl is still frozen, off to the side, looking at her as if she is a ghost and will disappear at any moment. She finally pulls away from Carl and Judith, the last of the people who were happy to finally see her again and he watches as she looks at them all, a small frown forming on her lips and a worried, almost sad expression over taking her features. She opens her mouth, seeming just about to speak when suddenly, her eyes shift over to him.

Her blue eyes lock onto his own as her mouth snaps shut and he isn't sure when it happens but she is suddenly standing right in front of him and she smiles before she wraps her arms around him and even though her arms are tight around him, hinting at her new found strength, Daryl swears he has never breathed easier than in that moment.

.

.

.

The next few hours are a blur and a half and Daryl doesn't even remember when it got dark out or how he got onto this porch and when Jen handed him that pack of cigarettes earlier today he hadn't planned on smoking them all in one day but as he lights up another one, he knows he is well on his way there.

The housing team had placed them in one of their larger houses, having been vacant for very groups like their own - they knew that larger groups liked to stay together and always tried to accommodate that. Beth hadn't left the families side - well, more like Maggie's side - since they had been reunited and Daryl tried to keep his distance, to give her that space but he could feel her eyes on him and he knew she knew that he was keeping an eye on her as well.

Maybe that's why it didn't surprise him when he heard the back door open behind him. He knew she had caught him sneaking out but he knew that if she wanted to see him, she would follow. She sat down next to him and they were both quiet for a moment, him sitting there smoking his cigarette.

"I'm surprised ya ain't asked me yet," she says softly, wrapping her arms around her legs and leaning forward, resting her cheek on her knees to face him.

"'Bout what?" Daryl grunted, tossing his finished cigarette away. There were lots of things he wanted to ask her, he was just terrified of what the answers were going to be.

He looks over as she takes in a deep, slow breath.

"About why I gave them your last name as my own," she supplies quietly, letting out her breath and he's pretty sure there is a pink tint forming on her cheeks.

He  _was_  curious about that. Though it was more than curious, he was dying to know. It was strange and he couldn't come up with any reason that made sense and he had thought about it nearly all damn day. Especially with the looks people gave him once they found out and Maggie had asked her and Daryl had all but leaned in like some old lady looking for new gossip as he had quickened his steps behind them, desperate for the answer. She had just smiled coyly though, smiling and mumbling something that he hadn't understood before she had turned the conversation toward Maggie's growing belly and Daryl had to resist the groan of disappoint.

"I'm sure ya got a good reason," Daryl just grumbles, toying with the pack in his hand.

"It's not your fault Daryl," she says then, her voice so fierce he whips his head up to look at her, seeing the fire in those blue eyes.

"Hmm?" he grunts.

"I've seen the way you've been lookin' at me all day. All that guilt and ya need to stop. It ain't your fault we got separated." she explains, and Daryl almost smirks at the tone in her voice, bringing back memories of moonshine and burning down the past.

"Shouldn't'a let ya get taken," he mumbles, shaking his head at her.

"Daryl Dixon you shut your mouth right now and look at me," she orders and this time he does smirk, but only for a moment because her hand is suddenly there, gripping his chin and turning him toward her and he is staring down an ocean of blue as she speaks again. "You didn't let me get taken. You couldn't have known that it was some sort of trap. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. And I know you probably did everything you coulda done once you found out I was gone."

"I ran," he spoke up, surprising both of them. "After that damn car. I ran all night, didn't stop. Not til I got to a crossroads. Had no way'a knowin' which was ya went."

Beth is staring at him, a look of disbelief on her face before she smiles, shaking her head softly. She's quiet for a while again and Daryl tries to think of what to say. He wants to ask her what happened, how she got here, what happened now but she doesn't give him the chance as she starts talking.

"I didn't even hear him comin' up. I was standing on the side of the road, waitin' for ya and then he came up from behind and grabbed me. I fought him for a little bit but he slammed me down on the edge of the car. I must have blacked out cause next thing I knew I was locked in the trunk. I'm not gonna lie, I panicked at first, cried a little," she let out a sheepish laugh, absent of humor and Daryl just clutched his knee tighter, hanging on to every word as she looked out into the yard, her eyes far away as she relived the memory.

"I reigned it in though. Pulled myself together and asked myself what you would'a done in the situation. So I started looking around, searching for a weapon - he had taken my knife off me - and I found this hammer under a bunch of blankets. When the car stopped, I didn't even think. When that trunk opened I just went on pure instinct, thought about you and where you said the weak spots were and I just, I couldn't stop, I," she took in a shaky breath and he wanted to reach out, touch her but he was glued to his seat.

"I killed him. I know I had to and he would have done the same to me, done worse. Knew that when I saw the place he was plannin' on takin' me. It was awful. I tried going back, gettin' back to you but I had no idea where or how far he had driven. I followed the road for a while and then a herd came through and I took shelter in this town. I was able to scrounge up a pack and then I just ventured on. My intent was to find you but I knew it wouldn't be easy. I had to do things, to survive, things that still give me nightmares, things I'm not proud of.

"I don't know how long I was on my own for but one day, another herd came through and this time I wasn't so lucky. I had to climb a tree and after staying up there for almost a day, I was exhausted and weak, I slipped on my way down. Broke my wrist catching my fall and cut myself up somethin' awful. I didn't have much medical supplies - I always looked but never found any - I tried to patch myself up and keep the wounds clean but they got infected. I wound up passin' out next to a tree, right out in the open.

"Woke up to Jen pointin' a gun in my face and askin' if I had been bit. It was a miracle she found me and not someone else, someone worse. She was out huntin' with her brother. I'd think you and her would get along actually," she said with a small laugh and Daryl just grunted, thinking about the red head. "But anyways, they brought me back here and they helped me, saved me. I've been here ever since."

"I've been gettin' ready to go on a big scoutin' mission though - to look for you and everyone else. I just had to try. That's why I've been trainin' so hard - Jack won't let me go til he knows I can handle myself out there."

"Trainin'?" Daryl asks with a smirk. "That what you call what I saw today? Ya done kicked that guys ass out there, girl." he says and he gives her a proud smirk. She just looks back at him, a bashful smile on her lips and another tint of pink blooming on her cheeks.

They're quiet again and Daryl wonders why no one has interrupted them yet and he decides that it probably won't be much longer until someone does so he swallows his nerves and clears his throat, deciding to speak up.

"Don't exactly explain why ya suddenly got people callin' ya Dixon now though." he says, watching her as she shifts in her seat, biting her lip.

"Right," she sighs and turns to look at him and he can tell what she's going to say is important so even though everything in him is telling him to look away, he keeps his gaze steady on her.

"When I got here, I had been too sick to say much, let alone give 'em my name. They actually called me Blondie for a little while," she says with a small laugh and Daryl smiles. "Once I got better though, and the fever came down they asked me for my name, told me about the list and everything and I went to tell 'em but, I don't know. Being on my own, doin' the things that I did. That wasn't me. I wasn't that same farm girl I used to be. I realized that Beth Greene died on the side of that road with a hammer in her hands and another man's blood on her face. I couldn't be her anymore.

"It just made sense to me. I don't know, I know it's weird but I thought about you a lot when I was on my own, remember that old sayin' 'What would Jesus do?' It became like a mantra in my head except mine was, 'What would Daryl Dixon do?' It's silly." she said with another small laugh and Daryl just smirked.

"I wouldn't'a made it if not for everything ya taught me. I tracked and hunted. I knew how to defend myself from the few lessons we did and I guess, I don't know. It just tumbled out of my mouth before I even realized it and by the time I did they were already walkin' around here callin' me Dixon and I know it's weird and I'll set everyone straight, tomorrow, try and explain it."

She stopped talking then and glanced back out into the yard and Daryl just stared at her. He could see it, the ways she had changed but she was still that girl he ran away from the prison with. She would always be that girl to him, the one with hope when everything around them was hopeless. The light in the darkness. She would be the one who had faith and believed that no matter what, things would be okay, that there were still good things, good people in this world.

The one that changed his mind.

"It's bullshit," he says gruffly.

"What?" she asks, surprise and confusion on her face as she turns back to look at him.

"Ya ain't dead, Greene." he says and she sucks in a breath at the name. "Beth Greene is still alive and I'm sure that's she's still gonna be a pain in my ass. Just cause ya had to do some things that ya know ain't good it don't mean ya gotta change the way ya see yourself."

"I did change though," she says softly, frowning at him.

"Nah," he shakes his head. "It was always in ya. Ya just didn't see it. I saw it though, always knew you were tough, ya just needed to see it for yourself."

She smiles. "I only saw it once I was alone and kept hearing your voice. Ya were pretty annoying sometimes."

He snorts. "Don't plan on me being nice or nothin' now. Gotta lotta time to make up for."

"Of course, Mr. Dixon," she says playfully, a glint in her eye and he smirks again.

"Don't know why'd ya want my last name anyways." he says after a moment. "Ever since I was little, being a Dixon was never a good thing. Nothing but trouble."

"S'not how I see it," she argues, her voice soft as he looks over at her, her eyes once again locking on his own.

"Yeah? How'd ya see it then?" he asks, his voice rough.

She shrugs. "Bein' a Dixon means you're a fighter, survivor. You're selfless and even if ya don't wanna admit it, you care. You're tough but ya have a soft side that no one knows about. You're afraid of bein' afraid but you'll never tell anyone that, not unless ya want them to know. You'll do whatever ya can to protect the one's you care about and even though you don't think so, bein' a Dixon, it's a good thing. It's a good name."

Daryl knows that she's more than just describing his name and he has to swallow against the way she's looking at him, like he's the best damn thing in the world and he looks at her again, looks at the small scar across her cheek - something he should ask her about - and he can see it now.

"Huh. Guess the name does suit ya then." he says simply and she smiles and she scoots closer to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

* * *

 


End file.
